Last week, more than 200 law enforcement officials, civil rights organizations, and faith leaders joined together in calling for an immediate halt to DHS’s “Secure” Communities program. The controversial program runs the fingerprints of anyone arrested through a DHS database to determine whether they are deportable, essentially turning local law enforcement officers into ICE agents.

Last Thursday, the California legislature passed the first part of the California Dream Act, AB130, which would allow undocumented immigrant youth who qualify for in-state tuition to also be eligible for non-state funded scholarships such as institutional financial aid or private scholarships.

One of our heroes, Jose Antonio Vargas, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who outed himself in a recent New York Times Magazine article as undocumented, made an appearance on the Colbert Report last night.

The New York State Senate recently failed to pass a health insurance exchange bill (“Dropping the Ball on Health Exchanges,” NY Times, July 11, 2011) that creates an exchange where small businesses and individuals in New York purchase quality, affordable, private insurance. Unlike the current marketplace, the exchange is consumer- friendly. Insurance companies are required to publicize information about their practices, including claims denials and costs to the consumer for out-of-network coverage.

No disrespect intended, but what universe does Congressman Lamar Smith inhabit? In a letter to the editor of the New York Times, Cong. Smith asserts, “Over the last year, the Obama administration has ignored the will of Congress and the American people by using executive branch authority to allow illegal immigrants to remain living and working in the United States.”

Last Thursday, in the heat of a New York City summer’s day, staff and volunteers from the New York Immigration Coalition, its member organizations, and other partners, armed with clipboards and pens, stopped to talk to passers-by and get signatures for the Coalition’s ‘With the Stroke of a Pen’ campaign.

Today, we are extremely excited to share with you the New York Immigration Coalition’s brand new blog, a place we hope will be a hub for conversations and news around immigrant issues in New York and beyond! The NYIC has been sparking conversations—and making sure immigrant voices are included in public policy debates--for over two decades.

Check out this inspiring story of versatility from Max Ahmed who is on theKeeping Families Together Bus Touren route to Washington D.C! Max is an NYIC DREAM Fellowship alumnus, who after being granted deferred action, started working with the NYIC's education program.

All of you have been so extremely supportive of the New York Immigration Coalition this year and you have followed us and liked us and spread information about our work, and for that we are so very grateful!

As the year comes to a close, we ask you to help us do two more things:

Two weeks ago, we offered a job to Max Ahmed, a young man about to graduate from college. Not a remarkable thing, necessarily; Max is bright and personable; he had participated in a leadership-development program at the NYIC last spring and has continued volunteering with us ever since.

In response to advocacy by a diverse coalition of groups, Governor Cuomo announced late this afternoon that all New Yorkers would be able to vote by paper ballot (known as an affidavit ballot) at any polling place in the state, and that all such ballots would be counted.

The Governor’s announcement came two days after the New York Immigration Coalition, together...

The NYIC is so proud of one of our Spring 2012 DREAM Fellows and NYIC education intern, Max Ahmed, who presented testimony to the City Council's joint hearing of the Education and Immigration Committees on Thursday, September 27th! Check out his testimony below!

In mid-August, Breakthrough, an organization that uses multimedia, pop culture, and community engagement to raise awareness about human rights issues, launched an online campaign called #ImHERE to bring global attention and to support human rights for immigrant women. When Breakthrough launched the campaign,...